Woman’s Assault of BF Reveals Growing Problem of Female Domestic Violence. Law Enforcement Urged to Review Outdated Policies.

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Rebecca Hain: 513-479-3335

Woman’s Assault of BF Reveals Growing Problem of Female Domestic Violence. Law Enforcement Urged to Review Outdated Policies.

WASHINGTON / October 13, 2022 – A North Dakota political candidate was arrested this past week for allegedly punching her boyfriend in the face and pulling out his hair. The incident reflects the growing problem of female violence in the United States (1) and its implications for law enforcement.

Following the arrest of 33-year-old Kaitlyn Marie Huss, prosecutors charged the woman with criminal assault (2). The following day, Democratic candidate Huss withdrew her candidacy for the North Dakota House of Representatives for behaving “in manner unbefitting of my position of a candidate and unbecoming of my own personal standards of myself.” (3)

The North Dakota incident came just days after a Colorado woman tied up, slashed, choked her date with a belt, and then threatened to kill the man if he told anyone. Police took Lauren Marie Dooley, 22, into custody, with authorities charging her on three separate felony counts (4).

The Centers for Disease Control reports that each year, 4.2 million men and 3.5 million women are victims of intimate partner violence (5). The ASU Center for Problem-Oriented Policing provides other helpful information about domestic violence (6).

Given these facts, one would expect more women than men would be arrested for domestic violence. But the opposite is true. According to the Department of Justice, 81% of persons arrested for domestic violence are male (7).

The wrongful arrest of men arises from the law enforcement use of outdated “predominant aggressor” policies that ignore the reality of mutual violence and utilize sex-biased criteria (8).

The recently published book, Gender and Domestic Violence (9), decries the resulting injustice. Editors John Hamel and Brenda Russell note that “arrest and intervention policies too often continue to frame IPV [Intimate Partner Violence] in terms of male perpetrators and female victims.” They conclude the criminal system is in the “dire need” of reform.

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